This tour not only positions you to take pictures of an epic sunset, it also gives you the best opportunity to capture the beautiful light shining on the unique topography of the Windward side of the island. We start our island tour high above Waikiki at Tantalus lookout which provides panoramic views extending from Diamond Head to Pearl Harbor, with the vast blue ocean as a backdrop. Then driving over the H-3, Hawaii's third and last highway to be built on Oahu, you will be amazed at these breathtaking vistas. This 16.1-mile roadway passes through mile-long tunnels cut in to the Ko’olau Mountains lava rock before emerging in lush Haiku Valley. You might even spot some hikers on the famous Stairway to Heaven trail.

Stopping at a place of awesome beauty, the Byodo-in Temple, a scale replica of a temple in Uji Japan built over 900 years ago, it’s beautiful architecture, the graceful gardens and the backdrop of the Ko’olau Ridge will leave you with a spirit of inner peace, serenity and amazing photos. Then we will bring you up close and personal with the Ko’olau Mountains, an experience you won’t forget. It’s not surprising that in 1972 they were designated as a National Natural Landmark. We will continue on to Waimanalo Bay Beach Park, where you will visit the longest uninterrupted white-sand beach on Oahu, lined with amazingly unique Australian ironwood trees.

Hungry after all the excitement, we will take a break for lunch at Ai’ Love Nalo, which specializes in Hawaiian and Hawaii-inspired dishes prepared through a healthy, local food lens. Afterwards, we will visit Makapu'u Lookout & Beach, capturing the stunning landscape of East Oahu. After experiencing the amazing tide pools, late stage volcanic eruptions, and depending on the time of year, you may even spot a Humpback whale! Just around the corner, be prepared to capture the vibrant blue waves crashing in to one of the most unique rock formations in the world!Stopping for snacks and refreshments, we will prepare to photograph Hawaii’s most epic sunset on the Eastern tip of Oahu, where you will capture the sun dropping out of the sky along the sea cliff walls. The beauty can only be witnessed, not described!Sites visited:

Tantalus Lookout

H3 Highway

Byodo-In Temple

Ko’olau Mountains

Waimanalo Bay

Ai’ Love Nalo (lunch stop) *

Makapu’u Beach & Lookout

Lana’i Lookout

Refreshment stop (snack, coffee, etc.) *

Spitting Caves or China Walls for sunset!

Includes:

Free hotel pickup and drop off in Waikiki

Free admission to Byodo-In Temple

Free Tripod

Free Wi-Fi

What to bring:

Do not bring more than you can carry. Nothing is left in the van when we are out shooting to prevent theft.

We provide you with a tripod. You may bring your own.

Wear comfortable, closed-toed shoes.

Bring something to drink for yourself.

You may want to bring a light jacket if you get cold easily/it will get very warm during the day.

We recommend you bring additional batteries and memory cards for your camera. We would hate to see you miss out.

H Tours Hawaii is a "one stop shop" for all the best activities in the Hawaiian Islands. Since we work with many providers, reservations are necessary. WE HIGHLY recommend making reservations, as many activities are at a discount when you reserve in advance. Some providers even charge higher for those "walking in" because they know chances are you're not going to walk away. Finally, a reservation ensures you have a space on the tour. Trust us you don't want to spend so much time and money to come to Hawaii and then miss out on an activity because they were booked out!

Most companies, if not all, require you to call them if you're trying to book something 2-3 days in advance. Do you really want to be spending your valuable time in Hawaii calling around to desperately find something that is available to do? While we can usually accommodate most last-minute bookings, we highly encourage those that are checking out our website far in advance to book 2-3 weeks prior to desired date. You never know if there's a convention, special event, or an increase in overall visitors in town, and it would be a shame if the activities that you want to do are sold out because you waited until the last minute. Basically, if you know you want to do it, just book it!

Most companies have a set of centrally located hotels that they do pick ups from. When you select your hotel in the booking page, you will see the pickup location and directions. This makes the pickup process short so you can start the tour as soon as possible!

Yes! Bring your camera. Bring whatever it is that you take pictures with. These tours are not just for those who have decided to invest hundreds of dollars into their camera equipment. We don’t care if you take pictures with an ipad or a polaroid as long as you bring something to capture the beauty with you, you will be fine.

We pick you up at your hotel in Waikiki. If your hotel is outside of Waikiki, which is from the Ala Moana Hotel to the end of Kalakaua, we ask you to make your way to the paid parking area of the Honolulu Zoo. Sunrise and Complete Island Tours pick you up one hour prior to sunrise. The Sunset tour picks you up four hours prior to sunset. Full Moon; one hour prior to moon rise.

If your hotels zip code is not 96815 then you will need to go to the Honolulu zoo parking area for pick up. We do not pick up anywhere outside the Waikiki area. This includes the Kahala Hotel, Moana Valley Inn, the Ymca, Kailua, Pearl City, North Shore, Ko’Olina, the west side, east side, leeward side, Hawaii Kai, all military bases. The Waikiki area holds most of the hotels on the island. Please check with your hotel as to where it is located. We ask that you make your way to the Honolulu zoo for pick up. Please contact us if you are not sure where your hotel is located on the island.

With each tour you are provided a tripod to help you capture clear and crisp photos of everything and anything. We have rain gear for everyone on board. If we happen to be out when it starts to rain, we got you covered, literally. Also with every tour we will bring along information books about the island.

The weather in Hawaii is for the most part beautiful but sometimes we can get a little rain. The tours will always go out when the forecast is calling for scattered showers. This great chance to capture unique photographs, possibly rainbows and waterfalls off the Ko’olau cliffs. On the rare occasion we will have flash flood warnings and lightning. If this occurs we will still go head with the tour, after all this is a photography tour and bad weather presents great possibilities for amazing photographs. However, if the weather continues with unsafe conditions, then the tour will be canceled and you will have the option of rescheduling or receiving a 75% refund. The call to cancel will be one hour after pick up.

Whether you use a I Phone or a expensive camera there is a place on this tour for you. Tour is conducted by a experienced, personable excellent guide ( Chris took our Group). Transport is by air conditioned vehicle with access to free wifi (hotels please note). The tour apparently ... morediffers all the time and offers varying times during the day (our was the sunset tour) and is to the guides discretion. Chris took us to various places around the Island offering camera advice and tips along with interesting discourse about Island and it's history - a food stop was also included. Sunset was seen and photographed from cliffs facing Diamond Head. Initially this tour may seem pricey but take my word it's worth every penny.PS - Chris's mum you can be very proud of your son.

We did a private 5 hour sunrise tour with 4 adults and 2 young children (7 & 4). Alex was our guide and was exceptional. The tour bus was super comfortable with aircon plus wifi. Alex also provided lens cleaning cloths on the seats and tripods. although am definitely not an avid photographer, my family and I are ... moreextremely glad we took this tour! The majority of our group were just keen to see some different sights so I would highly recommend even for non photographers as we only had an iPhone, point and shoot and a basic SLR. We got some amazing tips and great pics we will treasure!

Having two young children this private tour allowed one of us to stay back with our youngest when required which Alex so kindly accommodated.

Alex was so passionate about the island and that certainly shone through in his knowledge of unique and beautiful locales. Some of our group had been on many tours of the island yet had not experienced the sites this tour offered. It was refreshing to not be taken to dodgey shops by tour operators who are paid to take tourist buses.

We stopped for coffee at Starbucks on the way (given it was a private tour and we were desperate given the 5am pickup!) and then for breakfast half way through. The breakfast was at a local place selling delicious wraps and burritos! Another place the large tour buses just can't get too.

I could not more highly recommend this tour even if you think you have seen all of Honolulu as we got taken to the most beautiful private waterfall I have ever seen in my life! Thanks Alex we will definitely be back when in Hawaii - maybe the sunset tour next time!!

I can't express in words what an exceptional guide Chris was. I took the sunset tour, which included a small waterfall in the Pali Highway area, so that we could practice taking waterfalls with slow shutter speeds. We then went to a beautiful private property with an enormous waterfall ... moreand lovely tropical flowers and foliage. We ended the day with sunset at China Walls. Chris was patient, articulate, and technically talented. He knew how to work every setting on every camera, whether it be point and shoot or an SLR. His assistant Carena was equally patient and skilled. Carena even moved foliage for me to get the perfect shot. The weather was hot and oppressive. I started to feel heat exhaustion and Chris is so in tune with his tour that he instinctively started carrying my equipment without my even saying anything. Carena was great too and helped release my camera from my tripod every single time. We didn't get to see all the sites planned but we did get amazing shots of what we saw.

I recommend bringing water, closed toe shoes, and rain cover for your camera because part of my trip was in the rain forest. I think it would help if you were in somewhat good shape as there is some climbing and hiking but you don't have to be a toned athlete either. We had a simply amazing time and we were the only ones on the tour that were not repeat customers. We will be next time!

This tour made my trip worth every penny. I had a tight schedule and spoke to Alex over the course of a couple of days, and he was very patient and willing to work with me. My tour was booked with Chris and he took me to some of the most incredible spots on the island for the Sunset Tour. I learned so much about my camera and how to take better ... morephotographs, but what I really appreciated was that I learned so much about the island, the history of Hawai'i, the people, the food, and the culture. I expected to walk away with some great photos, and this tour went above and beyond all of my expectations. You're not going to meet better people than these guys. I highly suggest taking this tour and I'll make sure all of my friends and family take this tour in the future.

I did a sunset tour with Oahu Photography Tours. Our tour guide was Chris. He managed to find some secluded places for us to get some great shots. In addition the man is half photographer and have Oahu historian. He kept us well-entertained and well-informed in the van between ... morelocations. His photography tips were very helpful in terms of learning. This is a great value for the money considering The location in Hawaii.

If I had to do it again I think I would do the all day tour. Some of the traffic issues can make getting from one place to the next a little bit of a challenge.

Overall phenomenal experience. Will be catching up with them again when I come back.

We did a family tour at sunset with Chris and it was amazing! He took us to a number of great locations - most of which you would struggle to find on your own as they are off the beaten path. We had the opportunity to get pictures of waterfalls, ocean cliffs, mountains and the sunset. ... moreAll four of us were relatively new to our cameras and Chris was happy to provide suggestions on shooting modes, light metering, etc. The company also supplied tripods and rain gear. This experience was fantastic and I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Oahu.

I did two photo tours with this company and both were great. On the sunset tour, I was the only one booked and instead of asking me to reschedule (which I was ok with) Chris took me out anyway. He is a photography major at the University and his laid back style was great. He helps you with your camera settings, if you need it, and suggests ... moregood angles to shoot from. My only suggestion would be that if you have a lot of experience and do not feel you need a lot guidance in setting up a shot, then just let them know. You have complete freedom to explore each stop and you don't have to stay in a huddled group. There didn't seem to be 'specific stops' that we had to go to. Chris changed it up as our interests developed. For example on the Complete Island tour, I really wanted to get a shot of a sea turtle so Chris made sure to add that to one of our stops. And I got the best shot ever! The Complete Island tour includes the sunrise and ends around mid-afternoon. I highly recommend this company (two guys, Alex and Chris). They also have a nice new van that is very comfortable! Thanks for everything Chris. I hope to visit again and would LOVE to take the Friday Nights tour!!